


Five Times Carlos and Buttercup Didn't Get Along and The One Time They Finally Did

by Araloth



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Cute, Funny, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23119150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Araloth/pseuds/Araloth
Summary: Carlos is convinced Buttercup hates him. He has evidence too.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Judd Ryder & TK Strand, TK Strand & Buttercup
Comments: 21
Kudos: 583





	Five Times Carlos and Buttercup Didn't Get Along and The One Time They Finally Did

1)

Ever since he and TK made things official Carlos has been making the effort to swing by the firehouse more. He and TK are both pretty busy, so whenever he can Carlos likes to stop by the firehouse after his shift to see TK. Sometimes if TK is done for the day they’ll go out somewhere and do something- an actual date. Carlos still grins a little every time. Other times though if TK was tired, or if he has a longer shift that day Carlos will just hang out with him at the fire station. Twenty-four shifts can be killer, but this way Carlos can still see TK at least a little bit. The others all gave them some good-natured ribbing about being attached at the hip at first, but none of them seem to mind having Carlos around.

At least that’s what Carlos thought. Because right now he’s starring down at a t-shirt he’d let TK borrow the last time he stayed over at Carlos’s place, even though it was a little big for him, and the thing has been totally shredded. Carlos lifts it up gingerly. Buttercup had dropped it unceremoniously at Carlos’s feet when he came to see TK.

“Do you see this?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah.” TK smiled a little guiltily. He's bent down next to Buttercup patting the dog like he hasn't just destroyed Carlos's shirt. "Sorry about that. I don't know what got into him. He's never messed with any of our stuff like that before…" TK smiled wider. "I mean he made a bit of a mess of the station when we first got him but that was just because he was figuring out his new home. Right boy?" Buttercup licked TK nose in answer. TK laughed.

“Ugg…” Carlos shakes his head. He hadn’t really been that mad to begin, things happened, and there was no way he could have stayed mad even if he wanted to with the combined cuteness of TK and the dog starring him down, duel sets of puppy dog eyes. “It’s fine.”

TK beamed up at Carlos. “I’ll get you a new one later.”

2)

Carlos had mostly forgotten about the shirt incident when he stopped by the firehouse again a few days later. It’d been raining most of the day, and a kind of gloomy mist hung over the whole city. Carlos wouldn’t admit it but he was looking forward to snagging some warm coffee from that fancy machine Captain Strand had almost as much as he to seeing TK. Police station coffee got a bad rap for a reason.

“TK?” Carlos didn’t see anyone immediately as he wandered inside.

Majan poked her head around from one of the fire engines. "Hey, Carlos. TK will be back in a minute. He just stepped out with Buttercup."

“Thanks.” Carlos glances back outside. He hears TK and the dog coming before he actually sees them, TK’s laugh bubbling out.

"-we're gonna have to get you cleaned up." TK led a very muddy Buttercup back through the firehouse doors. TK has some mud on in him in spots too, but nothing like what's on Buttercup.

Marjan noticed too. “What did you two do? You better not get that on this rig.”

TK grinned. “Buttercup wanted to roll in the mud.”

“And you couldn’t stop him?” Carlos asked.

“Why should I have?” TK laughed. “He deserves to have a little fun. Besides, Marjan you know he won’t get mud on the truck. He’s a good boy.” TK leaned down to scratch Buttercup’s ears, completely ignoring all the fresh mud he’d getting on his hands in the process. “Aren’t you?”

Buttercup barked his agreement and seemed to notice Carlos for the first time. Carlos smiled in spite of himself. "Hey Buttercup."

Buttercup padded over towards Carlos, and for a minute Carlos just thought he was going to say hi. But the minute he's standing in front of Carlos Buttercup gave himself a big shake, sending mud flying everywhere. Carlos blinked in surprise. TK was right about one thing, Buttercup had positioned himself carefully so none of the mud he let loose landed anywhere near the fire truck. Instead, it pelted all of Carlos and the floor that was dirty from people walking in and out all day anyways.

Carlos wiped some of the mud of his face and sighed. TK and Marjan both look pretty surprised, but Carlos can see them both struggling to hold back grins too. TK at least looks a little bit guilty. Buttercup just stared up at Carlos with a rather satisfied look on his face.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry.” TK is grinning now, despite all of the mud. “I’m sure he didn’t mean too.”

“Uh-huh…” Carlos isn’t so sure.

“C’mon,” TK scooped Buttercup up in his arms. “Say you’re sorry buddy.” Buttercup’s tail just thumps happily against TK chest, and he even had the gall to lick TK’s face. Carlos watched as what little chance there was of Buttercup actually getting disciplined melted away. "Haha okay." TK patted Buttercup again. "Let's go get you cleaned up." TK nods to Carlos. "You can use the showers too if you want. I'm sure we have some spare clothes around that would fit you…"

“Maybe in a minute.” Right now Carlos really just wants that coffee and to get away from Buttercup before the dog gets him any dirtier.

“Okay.” TK gave Carlos a quick peck on the cheek as he walked by, getting a little more mud on Carlos’s face. Only this time Carlos doesn’t mind so much. “See you in a few.”

Carlos pointedly ignores the wolf whistles he gets from Marjan and the others.

3)

"Hey, do you think you could help me take Buttercup into the vet’s tomorrow?”

“What?” Carlos poked his head out of the kitchen to where TK was lounging on the couch watching him cook in one of his trademark hoodies.

"My dad was going to take him for his checkup but he has a last-minute meeting with the fire chief. And my car isn't getting out of the shop until Thursday they said."

As much as Carlos was tempted to ask TK if any of the other members of the 128 can take Buttercup instead, he knows how much TK loves that dog. Even if Buttercup doesn’t always seem to be the biggest fan of Carlos for some reason. Carlos flipped the fish he was cooking over in the frying pan and smiled back up at TK. “Sure. I’ll pick you up after your shift?”

“Awesome.” TK leaned back against the couch with a big smile on his face, and Carlos knew he’d made the right call. “They say he’s been doing really well. Some of his tumors are almost completely gone.”

“That’s great.” Carlos knew how much that meant to TK, not just for Buttercup, but for how much the treatment could keep helping his dad too. He hoped tomorrow’s news could be more of the same.

"Yeah." TK smiled, his whole face lighting up. "Yeah, it really is."

Buttercup and TK were already standing outside the fire station waiting when Carlos pulled up in his Camaro. Carlos hoped out and exchanged a quick hug with TK. “You ready to go?”

“Yep.” TK tugged on Buttercups leash a little and Buttercup reluctantly hopped up into Carlos’s backseat. TK smiled, giving the dog one more pat before he climbed around into the passenger seat.

“How was your shift?” Carlos asked.

“Fine.” TK laughed. “Nothing too crazy today. You?”

“Just patrol and paperwork. Pretty simple day.”

TK nodded. “Thanks again for doing this. Maybe after we drop Buttercup back at the firehouse later we could-“

A ripping sound from the back seat makes them both stop talking. TK turned around to see what in the world Buttercup was doing, and Carlos tried to catch sight of the dog in his mirrors as he could while still driving.

“Buttercup!” TK reached an arm back to try and stop the dog from doing whatever it was he’d started and Carlos’s stomach drops a little. If TK is actually raising his voice at Buttercup it must be bad. When they pull into the vet’s parking lot TK reluctantly points it out.

“He scratched up the leather…” Carlos gaped at Buttercup. Right along one of the seams in the backseat Buttercup has somehow managed to rip out several inches of leather stitching and pull the pieces apart. Carlos groaned. “This dog hates me. I swear he did this on purpose.”

Buttercup doesn't look the least bit bothered by the accusation, but TK cringed and wrapped an arm around Carlos's waist.

“I’m really sorry about the leather. He was probably just nervous about going to the vet.” TK said. “I promise I’ll pay for you to get to get it fixed.”

Carlos sighed. “You don’t have to.”

“Maybe I want to.” TK smiled. “Come on Buttercup…”

Carlos watched as TK lead the dog inside. Buttercup doesn’t seem nervous at all if you ask Carlos, and the little cheers he heard go up from some of the staff when TK took him inside make Carlos bet that dog is almost as spoiled here as he is at the 126.

4)

If Carlos had any doubts left about how Buttercup felt about him the dog made it abundantly clear during the impromptu movie night the crew decided to have at the 126. Carlos and a couple of other friends and family of the team are all invited. Grace and Zoe are both there, and Carlos saw Michele bring her mom in earlier.

It started off as a pretty great night. Carlos and TK managed to claim one of the couches in the back of the 126's little lounge, and as the movie played TK had snuggled up next to Carlos. Carlos had a brief flashback to high school dating, going to a movie with some friends and then spending the majority of the time just making out with his boyfriend in the dark theater. Carlos isn’t quite that bold to start making out with TK in front of TK’s father and all his friends, and the two of them have been trying to take things a little slower now that they’re officially couple anyways. Not that it’s been working out that well. Carlos smiled to himself.

Carlos wasn’t really paying that much attention to the movie if he was being honest. He had one arm wrapped around TK, and his other hand was running softly though TK’s hair. Buttercup meanwhile, was sitting over by Captain Strand, but Carlos would have sworn he dog kept looking over at him and TK. Carlos heard Buttercup’s collar jingle a little as he stood up, and the next thing Carlos know Buttercup has hopped up onto the couch and is wedging himself in between Carlos and TK.

TK laughed and sat up and farther away from Carlos so Buttercup could stretch out, his head winding up in TK's lap. Carlos meanwhile, instead of his cute boyfriend, had Buttercups tail thumping in front of his face.

“He’s allowed up on the couch?” Carlos asked a little darkly.

"Of course!" TK grinned and ran a hand through Buttercup's fur. "He lives here too why shouldn't he be able to get up on the furniture?"

“No reason I guess.” Carlos watched as TK turned back to the movie, still petting Buttercup. Carlos glared at the dog. Buttercup turned to look back at Carlos once TK’s attention was on the screen, and the dog just looked smug as hell. Any doubt in Carlos’s mind evaporated. This dog had it out for it. As he watched Buttercup scooted a little closer to TK, practically climbing on top of him. TK just smiled and wrapped his arms around the big dog. Great, and now Carlos was jealous of a dog. Although if the look Buttercup sent back at Carlos again once he’d monopolized all of TK’s attention was anything to go by, the feeling was probably mutual.

5)

Since he and TK had actually started dating Carlos had managed to cook for him a few times now. Carlos's mother had always said the way to man's heart was through his stomach, and while Carlos was pretty confident he already had plenty of TK's affection he would happily take any extra points he could get. Which was part of how Carlos had wound up in the 126 kitchen cooking for all of TK’s work family.

It had been Captain Strand’s night to cook, but Carlos had the day off and knew what it could be like sometimes having to cook during a long shift, so he’d volunteered to step in instead. Getting to hopefully score some point with TK’s dad too, not to mention the rest of his crew would be a nice bonus.

TK had joked that Carlos didn’t know what he was in for, and seeing all of the culinary and dietary restrictions of the different members of the 126th Carlos had a better appreciation for that. Still, Carlos had managed to make things work, even if that did mean making slightly different things for some people.

“All right,“ Carlos set the last of the dishes down on the table and slid into his seat beside TK. “Dinner is served.“ Carlos smiled to himself as he took in the various impressed and hungry looks around the table. TK just looked proud.

“You did all this yourself?” Paul asked.

"Uh yeah," Carlos said. "I had the time and I figured you guys would be hungry…"

“Mm-“ Mateo groaned around a bite steak. “No offense Cap, but can Carlos cook for us all the time?”

Captain Strand chuckled. “Well normally I would very much take offense to that, but I can’t argue with the results.” He popped a bit off his own plate into his mouth and grinned. “Not cooking and getting fed this well is always a win in my book.”

“I’m stealing your recipe for some of this.” Marjan declared. “Or just stealing you. I haven’t’ decided yet.”

TK laughed. “Good luck with that. I’m not letting him go.”

Judd reached over with his fork and stole a couple of things off of TK's plate. "Then you won't mind if I take some of this…"

“Whoa hey-“ TK slapped Judd’s hand away. “Eat your own food. Leave mine alone!”

"Hey, you get to eat like this all the time." Judd declared. "That obligates you to share a little more."

"I'll tell Grace you said that next time I come over." TK grinned. "That would mean I could have your piece of cobbler right?"

"Hey, you don't mess with a man's cobbler-"

"Relax guys." Carlos laughed and stood up. He walked over to the kitchen and opened up the oven to show another set of dishes, warm and ready to go whenever the first round was finished off. "There's plenty to go around-"

A little crash came from the table near TK, where Buttercup suddenly jumped up and knocked Carlos’s plate to the floor. Before anyone could stop him he started wolfing down Carlos’s food. By the time TK managed to grab him half of Carlos’s plate was empty and the other half had been well licked. Carlos cringed.

Judd chuckled. "Well, I guess it's a good thing you made extra…" 

“Buttercup!” Captain Strand frowned. “We’re sorry Carlos, he’s never done that before.”

“I know…” TK shot Carlos an apologetic look. “I don’t know what got into him…”

Carlos was pretty sure nothing had ‘gotten into’ Buttercup, and that it was entirely down to it just being Carlos. He sighed and smiled for TK and the Captain's sake. "It's fine. Like Judd said we've got extra."

“I guess Buttercup just couldn’t help himself.” Marjan laughed. “It probably smelled too good.”

"Yeah," Carlos said, starring down at the dog who had apparently made it his life's work to make Carlos miserable. "Yeah, I'm sure that was it."

Buttercup just grinned back at him.

+1

"TK?" Carlos called out as he strode into the fire station. "You in here?" Normally when TK's shift was done he'd wait for Carlos down by the station's big bay doors but Carlos didn't see any sign of him. There were lights on upstairs, so Carlos slowly made his way up to the 126's lounge and kitchen area. "TK?"

“In here…”

Carlos followed the voice towards the lounge and found TK sitting back in one of the chairs with a large ice pack on his face. His eyes were shut, and his face was stuck in a kind of grimace. Buttercup was sitting down next to him, his head and TK’s lap, looking up at him worriedly.

“Are you okay?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah.” TK lifted his head up slowly and pulled the ice pack away to reveal a black eye and some extra bruising down that half of his face.

Carlos winced, even from across the room it looked pretty painful. “What happened?”

"Got hit by something on a call today," TK said. "It's not a big deal…just some bruising and a killer headache.”

Carlos frowned. “Did someone check to make sure you don’t have a concussion?”

TK smiled. "You're as bad as my dad. Yes someone checked me over. Three someones, in fact, Michelle and her whole team.” TK started to laugh, then gritted his teeth in pain and seemed to think better of it.

Carlos had to imagine he was in quite a bit of pain. Michelle and her crew wouldn’t have been able to give much for it. Carlos had started not so secretly carrying a few Tylenol on him and in his car for situations just like this. “Do you need any-“

“No.” TK smiled and shook his head. “Michelle has some too. Keeps the truck stocked with them now just in case I get hurt and need something.”

Carlos would have to remember to thank Michelle later. It made perfect sense to make sure you safe medicine on hand when you knew someone was an opioid addict, but Carlos still appreciated her looking out for TK like that.

“-besides,” TK smiled again. “I’m sure my dad probably had some stashed in his office too.”

“Where is your dad anyway?” Carlos asked.

“Finishing up some paperwork.” TK nodded towards his office the icepack, which was now mostly water, sloshing around.

“Here,” Carlos reached a hand out. “Give me that and I’ll get you a fresh one.”

“Thanks…”

Carlos took the melted icepack into the kitchen and rinsed it off. He heard footsteps behind him and sighed. “TK you shouldn’t- oh.”

Buttercup had followed Carlos into the kitchen, a concerned look on his face. Carlos sighed and reached down to pat him. For once Buttercup didn’t pull away from him.

"He'll be fine," Carlos said quietly. "Don't worry." He placed the old icepack back in the freezer and grabbed a fresh one for TK. "I'll take care of our boy."

Buttercup wagged his tail a little, almost cautiously, and head-butted the back of Carlos's knee, ushering him along faster.

Carlos snorted. "Yeah, I'm going…" He strolled back into the lounge and pressed the new ice pack against TK's face tenderly. TK hissed a little but then sighed as the cool surface eased down onto his bruised skin. Buttercup nosed at TK anxiously.

TK smiled, his fingers finding Buttercup even with his eyes closed again. "I'm fine boy." TK sighed. "Thanks, Carlos."

“Anytime.” Carlos pulled his phone out and fired off a few quick texts.

TK frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Canceling out dinner reservation.” Carlos smiled. “I’m getting taking you home and getting you comfortable. I was checking if Judd and Grace wanted out table instead.”

“I’m sure they won’t say no to a nice night out.” TK sighed. “Sorry to ruin ours.”

“Nothing’s ruined.” Carlos smiled. “I’m still with you.”

“Carlos-“

Carlos shook his head. “You got hurt. That’s not your fault.”

“Yeah…”

“I’m going to go let your dad know we’re leaving, then I’m taking you home okay?” Carlos asked.

TK nodded, some of the tension easing out of him. “Okay.”

This time, when Carlos left the room Buttercup didn’t follow him. But he never had a problem with the dog ever again.


End file.
